new little league rules for 07

[biittner77]

The big one that will certainly get a lot of discussion is that pitchers will now be on a pitch count rather than a max innings per week. Who actually keeps track of the pitch count is up to individual leagues. If aplayer exceeds his pitch count the manager gets ejected.

 

Should make for some interesting coaching decisions.

[Derwood]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

[Roast]

Dusty could never make it as a Little league manager....

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

That's much much much easier said than done.

 

I'm glad they finally got around to making this change. It protects the arms of pitchers from coaches who have shown that they will put temporary success over the health/future of the kid.

[Amazing_Grace]

This seems like a good rule to protect kids from overzealous managers. Little League Baseball should be competitive, but it should also be safe and friendly.

 

If a manager deliberately asks his kids to take pitches to get the pitcher out of the game early, the Cubs should consider hiring him maybe? We could use some of that mentality in the organization.

[rocket]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

i doubt little leaguers have the bat control to foul stuff off

[texascub]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

A manager encouraging his players to take pitches and work the count? That doesn't sound so bad to me, we could use more of that in today's game.

[Rob]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

i doubt little leaguers have the bat control to foul stuff off

 

Are you kidding me? I know some guys on my little league team who hit almost nothing but foul balls. :lol:

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

The pitch count is nice but is treating the symptom the wrong way. The number of pitches is not the big danger in a LL game. The #1 danger, the one that makes me cringe, is God awful mechanics.

 

I saw so many kids pitching last year flying open with the front shoulder, throwing uphill, throwing across the body with a closed front sholder, windmilling in the delivery, shortarming the ball, ect, ect. I would go to the coaches and try to explain why their guys were walking the world and I woulf get the thousand yard stare.

 

I had one tell me after the closing ceremony, real brave, that I didn't know anything about baseball even if I had coached on the college level. :roll:

[CuseCubFan69]

The pitch count is nice but is treating the symptom the wrong way. The number of pitches is not the big danger in a LL game. The #1 danger, the one that makes me cringe, is God awful mechanics.

 

I saw so many kids pitching last year flying open with the front shoulder, throwing uphill, throwing across the body with a closed front sholder, windmilling in the delivery, shortarming the ball, ect, ect. I would go to the coaches and try to explain why their guys were walking the world and I would get the thousand yard stare.

 

I had one tell me after the closing ceremony, real brave, that I didn't know anything about baseball even if I had coached on the college level. :roll:

 

Way too many LL coaches are there to win and teaching correct fundamentals is an afterthought for many. Add to this they don't know what to look for or even how to teach it in many cases keeps these bad habits going way longer than they should. I hear way too many LL coaches spout out their w/l record and this means all the world to a great percentage of them which is not a good thing IMO. Plus, of course the coaches sons always making the All-Star teams even though sometimes they are some of the worst players on the team and the fact that the manager with the team with the best record gets to coach the All-Stars.

 

What bothers me is the kid that pitches 6 innings and the next game he's at SS or even worse, catcher. If there are a few days in between that would be fine but if it's 2 days in a row or just one day off that just ain't good.

[wekse]

i never needed to throw more than 54 pitches in a LL game

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

The pitch count is nice but is treating the symptom the wrong way. The number of pitches is not the big danger in a LL game. The #1 danger, the one that makes me cringe, is God awful mechanics.

 

I saw so many kids pitching last year flying open with the front shoulder, throwing uphill, throwing across the body with a closed front sholder, windmilling in the delivery, shortarming the ball, ect, ect. I would go to the coaches and try to explain why their guys were walking the world and I would get the thousand yard stare.

 

I had one tell me after the closing ceremony, real brave, that I didn't know anything about baseball even if I had coached on the college level. :roll:

 

Way too many LL coaches are there to win and teaching correct fundamentals is an afterthought for many. Add to this they don't know what to look for or even how to teach it in many cases keeps these bad habits going way longer than they should. I hear way too many LL coaches spout out their w/l record and this means all the world to a great percentage of them which is not a good thing IMO. Plus, of course the coaches sons always making the All-Star teams even though sometimes they are some of the worst players on the team and the fact that the manager with the team with the best record gets to coach the All-Stars.

 

What bothers me is the kid that pitches 6 innings and the next game he's at SS or even worse, catcher. If there are a few days in between that would be fine but if it's 2 days in a row or just one day off that just ain't good.

 

I see the pitch and next day at SS in HS all the time.

 

I spent two years at a HS where we had a kid who was 6'4 210 as a junior and still touching 90 in the seventh inning. The head coach would throw this kid 7 innings and 110-130 pitches every Monday and SS on Tuesday. When he started complaing of arm tiredness and soreness I wasnt in the least bit surprised. Basicly I was told to keep my mouth shut and keep him ready to pitch every Monday. The coach told the kid he was soft.

 

The coach was old school and believed in throwing everyday. I didnt have a problem with that either, I did have a problem with him not knowing good pitching mechanics and stepping on my toes when I tried working with them despite my being brought in to work with pitchers, catchers, and MI.

 

Needless to say I left as soon as I had the opportunity.

[SouthSideRyan]

i never needed to throw more than 54 pitches in a LL game

 

Steve Nebraska?

[biittner77]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

That's much much much easier said than done.

 

I'm glad they finally got around to making this change. It protects the arms of pitchers from coaches who have shown that they will put temporary success over the health/future of the kid.

 

From what the coaches were telling me the pitch count was something like 85 for Major league (11-12?) which seems pretty high. I think this creates a danger that they may have a pitcher who has already thrown 60 pitches and they figure they might as well leave him in.

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

That's much much much easier said than done.

 

I'm glad they finally got around to making this change. It protects the arms of pitchers from coaches who have shown that they will put temporary success over the health/future of the kid.

 

From what the coaches were telling me the pitch count was something like 85 for Major league (11-12?) which seems pretty high. I think this creates a danger that they may have a pitcher who has already thrown 60 pitches and they figure they might as well leave him in.

 

I will say it again. The number of pitches arent the #1 danger!!! Poor mechanics will screw up an arm quicker than the pitch number.

 

IMO the reason you see more arm injuries these days is a lack of between outing throwing to help build up strength and endurance.

 

Wood tends to throw across his body. His new and improved mechanics still dont overcome a lifetime of habits. Add in riding him like a horse till he is tired and overworking tired muscles and you get injury of the year.

 

Prior is the same way. When he gets tired the elbow sinks and he gets a little east/west instead of north/south. Same as Wood pitching when tired adding to the breakdown of mechanics leads to the injury of the year.

 

Z is waiting to happen because of the poor mechanics toward the end of the year when he was canidate #1 to get the Cubs a complete game.

[cubfan]

I don't like it. Opposing managers could change their strategy to get a good pitcher out of the game by telling their hitters to just take a bunch of pitches or try to foul stuff off

 

When I was in little league I had a great fastball but had little control. I pitched against a few teams that only had the 3rd and 4th or maybe the 2nd, 3rd and 4th hitter take a swing. My control was bad but I still had several at bats where I put 3 straight across the plate and the kid never took the bat off his shoulder. I can understand the coach teaching kids to be selective but what fun could it have been go to bat 3 times and strike 3 times with out taking a swing.

I don't think this new rule will change much since I think coaches have been having kids just take pitches already.

[biittner77]

I don't think this new rule will change much since I think coaches have been having kids just take pitches already.

 

Most of the coaches I know have the kid take a called strike before they swing at a pitch but turn them loose after that. In that sense I agree that the rule won't really change the offensive strategy. I'm more concerned about leaving a kid in to use up the rest of his pitches.

 

The problem with LL is that there is very little opportunity for instruction. The kids want to be good without having to practice. It's supposed to be fun but then you have the overly competitive types- coaches and players alike who quickly lose sight of that.